Process and apparatus for manufacturing prepared roofing strips



March 13, 1928.

H. ABRAHAM PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PREPARED ROOFING STRIPS Filed July 3. 1926 INVENTOR Herberf xlbmbam ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 13, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,662,655 PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT ABRAHAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE RUBEROID 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MANOFACTURING PREPARED ROOFING STRIPS.

Application filed July 3, 1926.- Serial No. 120,316.

This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of preparing roofing strips,

and particularly to strips of the character having at least one notched or serrated edge,

which strips'when laid simulate the appearance of shingles.

My invention is an improvement of the method and apparatus described and claimed in Patent No. 1,126,932, issued to me on February 2, 1915, and has for itsobject to roduce a' notched or serrated roofing strip in which the protective weatherproofing coating not only extends over and seals the cut edge but is considerably thicker at said edge than at the opposite edge, thus producing in continuous operation strips having a thick butt.

Other and further objects of my improvements will appear from the following de- 2 scription, it being understood that modificationsmay be made in the details herein described without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrat- 2 ing one form of apparatus and process by which I produce the strips Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation, in elevation, illustrating the process and ap-' paratus for converting a' continuous web of flexible material into prepared roofing strips.

Fig. 2 is a detailed plan view of a portion of the web, and the cutter for cutting the web longitudinally into strips.

,Fig. 3 is an elevation of the coating applying rolls.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the roofing strips, and,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section thereof taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4, but on an enlarged scale. i

' Referring now to Fig. 1, 1 represents a web of flexible fibrous material, such as roofing felt. The web is assed over a series of rolls 2 in a zigzag pat through a saturating 46 machine or tank 3 which contains a heated molten or liquid saturating solution 4, preferably of a bituminous compound such as is ordinarily used for saturating roofings.

After leaving the saturating tank, the web passes in loops through a cooling rack 5, and then between the cuttin rolls 6, at least one of which is provided with knives 7 for cuttin the web longitudinally into strips 1" an 1 each having one notched or serrated edge 8 of any desired configuration.

Each of the strips is coated on .both surfaces with a liquid or molten coating composition. The coating composition is preferably of substantially the same character as that employed for saturating the web but of a harder consistency, and is preferably applied at a temperature slightly higher than the temperature at which the composition will congeal so that the coating will not flow too freely and will set rapidly. The coating 9 on the lower surface is substantially of uniform thickness, while the coating 10 on the upper surface'is of varying thickness, being thickest along the notched edge 8 of the strip and diminishing gradually in thickness towards the opposite edge, as best seen in Fig. 5 of the drawing.

For this purpose, each of the strips 1" and 1", respectively, is carried between a pair of guide rolls 11 and then over a coating-roll 12. The axes of the coating roll 12 and the guide rolls 11 eXtend transversely of the strip and are set-at an angle so that the ends adjacent to the notched edge 8 of the strip. are lower than the opposite ends. The strip in passing over said rolls is twisted from its horizontal path so that it passes over the coating roll 12 in an inclined plane as seen in Fig. 3. The roll 12 revolves in a pan 13 containing a supply of coating material, and applies a coating 9 of substantially uniform thickness on the lower surface of the strip.

The coating 10 of the upper surface is applied by means of a supply pipe 1 1 in conjunction with a coating roll or scraper 15.

The pipe 14 is arranged .to discharge the coating material at the higher or straight edge of the strip so that it will flow by gravity toward and over the notched or cut edge '8, and thereby seal saidedge. The roll or scraper 15 is set at an angle to the roll 12 and is spaced therefrom a greater distance at its inner end than at its outer'end, as shown in Fig. 3. By this arrangement, a coating of varying thickness is a plied to the upper surface of the strip, which coating covers the upper surface and extends over the notched edge, and is thicker at the I notched edge than at the opposite edge;

Each of. the strips is now carried horizontally over a roll. 16 and under a. hopper 17 by which a facing of mineral particles 18 is applied to the coated upper surface of the strip and along the strip and along the notched edge thereof. Presser rolls 19 are preferably provided to afford suflicient pressure to partially imbed the mineral particles in the coating.

After being faced with the mineral particles, each of the strips are passed between a pair of rotary cutters 20 which sever the strip transversely into pieces of desired lengths to form the completed product, one example of which is illustrated in Figures i and 5' of the drawings.

What I claim is 1. The process of making prepared roofing strips which comprises saturating a web of flexible fibrous material with a bituminous saturating composition, cutting the web lengthwise into strips each having a notched edge, inclining the strips toward the notched edges and with the latter free, applying bituminous coating composition on the upper surface of each of the strips so as to permit same to gravitate toward and over the free notched edge so as to form acoating of varying thickness which extends over the notched edge and is thicker at said edge than at the opposite edge, applying a layer of bituminous coating composition on the lower surface of each of the strips to form a coating of substantially uniform thickness, applying a facing of mineral particles on the upper coated surface and over the notched edge of the strips, and severing the strips transversely into pieces of predetermined lengths.

2. The process of making prepared roofing strips which comprises saturating a web of flexible fibrous material with a waterproofing composition, cutting the web lengthwise into strips each having a notched edge, twisting the strips angularly'so that the notched edge is in a lower plane than the opposite edge, and has its notched edge free, applying a coating of weatherproofing composition on the upper surface of each a strip while it is traveling angularly so as to permit the coating to gravitate toward and over the free notched edge so asto form a coating of varying thickness which extends over the notched edge and is thickest at said edge, applying a facing'of mineral particles on the coated upper surface, and severing the strips transversely into pieces of predetermined lengths.

3. The process of making prepared roofing strips which comprises saturating a web of flexible fibrous material with a waterproofing composition, cutting the web lengthwise into strips each having a notched edge, twisting each of the strips widthwise so that the notched edge is in a lower plane than the opposite edge, and'is free depositing a weatherproof coating composition on the upper surface of each of the strips adjacent its higher edge so that the coating composition will flow by gravity across said surface and over the notched edge, shaping the coating composition so as to form acoating of varying thickness which extends over the notched edge and is thickest at said edge, and severing the strips transversely into pieces of desired lengths.

4. In apparatus of the type described, the combination of means for cutting a web of flexible material into strips each having a notched edge, a pair of rolls each of uniform diameter throughout arranged with their axes disposed in inclined relation and disposed to receive the strips therebetween and with the notched edges of the strips free and in a lower plane than the opposite edge, and means to deposit a weather )roof composition on the upper surfaces 0 the strips so that the composition extends over the free notched edges and is shaped by the rolls to form a coating on the said upper surface which is of graduall increasing thickness toward the notched e ges.

5. The hereindescribed process of making prepared roofing strips which resides in inclining a strip having a notched edge with the said edge in a lower plane than the opposite edge and free, then in depositing a weatherproofing composition on the u er surface of the strip so that the composition flows by gravity towards and extends over the free notched edge and then shaping the composition to form a coating on the said upper surface which is of gradually increasing thickness toward the notched edge.

HERBERT ABRAHAM. 

